Food slicing apparatus for a food processing line

ABSTRACT

A food slicing apparatus and components where the apparatus includes a frame and a pivotally mounted carriage. The frame mounts a height adjustable conveyor system while the carriage hosts a latch for a slice thickness adjustment cam. The carriage also supports a drive system which precisely moves a food transporting tube assembly over a base, such as pizza dough, while food is cut by a laterally moving blade mounted around two drums, one of which is adjustable to change tension in the blade. The blade is further supported by a blade guide which also guides the sliced food to the pizza dough base. The drive system includes a servomotor, a group of gears, a crank connected to the gears, a cam roller and a cam follower plate with a slot. The cam follower plate is connected by a quick connect and disconnect connector to the food tube assembly. The result is a compact, efficient slicing apparatus with a small footprint that is usable in a food processing line. The apparatus is easy to clean and the food tube assembly is easily exchanged with an assembly having a different arrangement of the food tubes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a food slicing apparatus for usein a food processing line and more particularly to a food slicingapparatus for use in an assembly line for creating such food products asfrozen pizza; this disclosure also concerns various component parts ofthe slicing apparatus.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Many food products such as frozen pizza are processed or“manufactured” on an assembly line where a round dough base passesthrough several stations where sauce, cheese and toppings are depositedbefore the combination is boxed, frozen and shipped off to supermarketsfor sale to consumers. It is well understood that all such machines anddevices must be reliable and relatively inexpensive to be commerciallyviable. Such machines also must be easily cleaned as required by localhealth codes. Prior machines tend to be expensive, overly large, noteasily cleaned and not reliable. Therefore, there is a need for a betterapparatus than now exists.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The difficulties encountered by previous machines have beenovercome by the apparatus disclosed here. What is disclosed in generalis a slicing apparatus for a processing assembly line including a frame,a conveyor mounted to the frame, a cutting blade moving laterally acrossthe frame, a carriage mounted on the frame, a tube assembly for holdingfood or other product to be sliced and a compact drive mechanism.

[0006] A major advantage of the slicing apparatus disclosed herein isthat the apparatus is compact, easily cleaned and very reliable.Additional features of the slicing apparatus are that the apparatus hasa relatively small footprint and because of clever design is simplyconstructed and relatively inexpensive. Construction techniques achievean efficient and a compact design while providing for functions thatmake for a versatile, easily adjustable and effective machine. Forexample, the apparatus may be quickly and easily disassembled to allowfor cleaning.

[0007] A more complete understanding of the present invention and otherobjects, advantages and features thereof will be gained from aconsideration of the following description of a preferred embodimentread in conjunction with the accompanying drawing provided herein. Thepreferred embodiment represents an example of the invention which isdescribed here in compliance with Title 35 U.S.C. section 112 (firstparagraph), but the invention itself is defined by the attached claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0008]FIG. 1 is a downward looking isometric view of the slicingapparatus for a food processing line which is described herein.

[0009]FIG. 2 is top plan view of the slicing apparatus.

[0010]FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the slicing apparatus showing acarriage in a lowered position (in solid line) and in a raised position(in broken outline).

[0011]FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the slicing apparatus.

[0012]FIG. 5 is an exploded isometric view of a portion of the slicingapparatus shown in FIG. 1.

[0013]FIG. 6 is a downward looking, enlarged isometric view of the frameof the slicing apparatus, where the frame is rotated 180 degrees fromthe previous figures.

[0014]FIG. 7 is a downward looking, exploded view of the frame withportions of a conveyor system and a blade mounting system including ablade tensioning assembly.

[0015]FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a conveyor lift shaft.

[0016]FIG. 9 is an elevation view of the conveyor lift shaft.

[0017]FIG. 10 is a downward looking, exploded isometric view, partiallydiagrammatic, of a carriage system, the tube assembly and the drivesystem.

[0018]FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the carriage.

[0019]FIG. 12 is a front elevation view of the carriage.

[0020]FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the carriage, the drive system, thetube assembly and a connector.

[0021]FIG. 14 is a bottom isometric view of the connector of the slicingapparatus.

[0022]FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic isometric view of the motion of a crankof the drive system on an x-y coordinate system.

[0023]FIG. 16 is an isometric view of a slide block.

[0024]FIG. 17 is a front elevation of the slide block.

[0025]FIG. 18 is an isometric view of a latching shaft.

[0026]FIG. 19 is an isometric view of a thickness adjustment shaft.

[0027]FIG. 20 is a side elevation view of the thickness adjustmentshaft.

[0028]FIG. 21 is a bottom isometric view of a blade guide.

[0029]FIG. 22 is a bottom plan view of the blade guide.

[0030]FIG. 23 is a front elevation view of the blade guide.

[0031]FIG. 24 is an enlarged section view of the blade guide taken alongline 24-24 of FIG. 22.

[0032]FIG. 25 is an enlarged front end portion of the blade guide takenwithin circle 25-25 of FIG. 24.

[0033]FIG. 26 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 26-26 ofFIG. 22.

[0034]FIG. 27 is an isometric view of a driver drum assembly.

[0035]FIG. 28 is an exploded isometric view of the driver drum assemblyrotated ninety degrees from the view shown in FIG. 27.

[0036]FIG. 29 is an elevational view of the driver drum assembly.

[0037]FIG. 30 is an exploded isometric view of a driven drum assembly.

[0038]FIG. 31 is an elevation view of the driven drum assembly.

[0039]FIG. 32 is an enlarged isometric view of a blade tensioner handleand cam.

[0040]FIG. 33 is an enlarged side elevation view of the blade tensionerhandle and cam.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0041] While the present invention is open to various modifications andalternative constructions, the preferred embodiment shown in the variousfigures of the drawing will be described herein in detail. It isunderstood, however, that there is no intention to limit the inventionto the particular embodiment, form or example disclosed. On thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalentstructures and methods, and alternative constructions falling within thespirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims,pursuant to Title 35 U.S.C. section 112 (second paragraph).

[0042] Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, the food slicing apparatus 10 isshown fully assembled and includes a frame 12 having a lower standportion 14 and an upper support portion 16. Pivotally mounted to theframe is a carriage 18. Mounted to the carriage is a slideable foodtransporting assembly 20 and a drive assembly 22. Also mounted to theframe is a cutting blade system 24, a conveyor system 26, an electroniccontrol 28 to control the operation of the food slicing apparatus and anactivation control box 30.

[0043] An exploded view of the food slicing apparatus is illustrated inFIG. 5, but without the electronic program control and activationcontrol box. For purposes of orientation, the conveyor system 26 may beviewed as having an upstream portion 32 and a downstream portion 34separated by a slicing blade 36 which is part of the cutting bladesystem 24. An upstream motor 38 is attached to the upper support portion16 of the frame 12 for operating the upstream portion of the conveyorsystem and a downstream motor 40 is attached to the frame for operatingthe downstream portion of the conveyor system. Also attached to theframe at the upstream portion 32 is an infeed guide 42 having twoadjustable guide blocks 44, 46 movable on a rod 48 for locating a “base”50 upon which food will be deposited. The base may be a food item, suchas pizza dough, or the base may be a paper disc or a plastic substrate.It is to be noted that while the slicing apparatus is designedspecifically for food, non-food uses may be made of the apparatus. Thearrow 51 is drawn on the base to indicate the direction of movement ofthe base on the conveyor system.

[0044] The simple construction and reliable design of the slicingapparatus is exemplified by referring to FIG. 6 which illustrates theframe 12 in more detail. The frame in FIG. 6 is rotated about onehundred eighty degrees from the views in FIGS. 1-5. The frame 12includes the lower stand portion 14 which is formed of four tubular legs60, 62, 64, 66, four tubular cross members 68, 70, 72, 74 and two sidetubes 76, 78. The frame also includes two walls 77, 79 of the uppersupport portion 16. All of these elements have been welded together forstrength and lightness as well as for ease of cleaning. The lack of nutsand bolts eliminates the gaps and spaces inherently present when nutsand bolts are used. Germs and decay which breed in such gaps and spacesare therefore eliminated. A catch pan 80, FIGS. 1 and 5, is supported onthe lower cross members 70, 72 to prevent any drippings from reachingthe floor on which the slicing apparatus stands.

[0045] Also welded to the frame are three mounting rods 81, 82, 84 towhich are welded two support plates 86, 88 and five grooved shafts 89,90, 92, 94, 96. The three mounting rods extend beyond the sidewalls 77,79 for supporting the cutting blade system 24. The five shafts supportan upstream wire conveyor belt 102, FIG. 5, and a downstream wireconveyor belt 104. Formed in the frame sidewalls are a number ofopenings and slots and two long slanted slots 98, 100, FIG. 6, throughwhich the cutting blade is accommodated. The frame, mounting rods, thesupport plates and the grooved shafts are all formed of stainless steelto prevent rust and to allow the entire apparatus to be convenientlycleaned by being “hosed down” with a cleaning solution.

[0046] Additional elements, in exploded view, are shown added to theframe in FIG. 7 and account for some of the holes formed in thesidewalls 77, 79. It should be noted that the frame has been againreoriented one hundred and eighty degrees from the view of the frame inFIG. 6, however, the orientation of FIG. 7 is now the same as theorientation of the frame in FIG. 5.

[0047] In FIG. 7, the cutting blade system 24 is depicted mounted to theframe upon the three rods 81, 82, 84. The cutting blade system includesthe slicing blade 36 mounted to a driver drum (described below inrelation to FIGS. 27-29) and a driven drum (described below in relationto FIGS. 30 and 31). A tensioning mechanism, to be described below, isconnected to the driven drum located within an enclosure 108. A drivemotor 110 is connected to the driver drum under an enclosure 112. Theupstream motor 38 is connected to a sprocket shaft 114 which is used todrive the upstream wire conveyor belt 102, FIG. 5 and the downstreammotor 40 is connected to a sprocket shaft 116 which is used to drive thedownstream wire conveyor belt 104. Idler sprocket shafts 120, 122, 123are part of the upstream conveyor and idler sprocket shafts 124, 125,126 are part of the downstream conveyor.

[0048] Mounted between the sidewalls of the frame on the five groovedshafts 89, 90, 92, 94, 96 is a conveyor adjustment slide 128 of aconveyor lift system. The conveyor slide includes three upstreamextending rails 129, 130, 131 each with three notches 132, 133, 134which match the grooves in the groove shafts 89, 90, 92. Extendingdownstream are three shorter rails 136, 137, 138, each with two notches139, 140 for engaging the two downstream grooved shafts 94, 96. A middleportion of the conveyor slide has a U-shaped body 144 with oppositelyextended arms 146, 148. The U-shaped body supports the two idlersprocket shafts 123, 125 which cooperate with the other sprocket shaftsto guide and move the wire conveyor belt. Two support shafts 150, 152are welded to the U-shaped body and extend laterally to be supportedwithin vertically oriented slots 154, 155, FIG. 6, in the sidewalls 77,79 of the frame. The support shafts allow the conveyor adjustment slideto move vertically and thereby change the vertical height of the wirebelts relative to the frame just upstream of the slicing blade 36.

[0049] A lift shaft assembly 158, FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, also part of theconveyor lift system is also attached to the sidewalls of the frames inthe openings 159, 160, FIG. 6, so as to be just beneath a base 161 ofthe U-shaped body 144 and the support shaft 150. The lift shaft assemblyincludes a rotatable handle 162, a shaft 163 and two cams 164, 166. Thecams are in the forms of rollers which are mounted off-set as seen inFIG. 9. When the shaft 163 is rotated by the handle 162, the distancebetween an axis of rotation 165 and outer surfaces 167, 168 of the cams164, 166 will change. The shaft is located beneath the conveyoradjustment slide 128 so that the cams push the conveyor adjustment slideupwardly or allow it to drop. The lift shaft assembly 158 and theconveyor adjustment slide 128 form a lift assembly system. Moving theconveyor slide upwardly or downwardly allows the conveyor system tocompensate for different thicknesses in the passing bases. Differentheight pizza dough, for example, may be accommodated. It is desirable tohave the slicing blade as close as possible to a passing base so thatthe newly sliced items lay down on or fall immediately onto the base.Falling a minimal distance helps ensure that the cutting component offorce, acting in the direction of the moving blade, does not carry thesliced items laterally so as to upset the planned pattern of the sliceditems on the base, such as pepperoni slices on a pizza.

[0050] Attached to the two support plates 86, 88 is a horizontallydisposed food support plate 156 and a blade guide 157. All of theelements thus far identified including the conveyor slide, the supportplate, the blade guide, the shaft 163 and the handle 162 are made ofstainless steel. The cams 164, 166 may be made from Delrin.

[0051] The advantages of compact design and ease of disassembly forcleaning purposes may be appreciated by reference to FIGS. 10-12. Thecarriage 18 is illustrated in a view which is rotated one hundred andeighty degrees from the views shown in FIGS. 1-5. The carriage has twosidewalls 180, 182, each with a series of horizontal slots, such as theslot 181 to lessen weight because the carriage is also made of stainlesssteel. Connecting the two sidewalls is a horizontal drive system supportplate 184 and a product support plate 186, FIGS. 11 and 12. Along insidesurfaces 188, 190 of the sidewalls 180, 182 are horizontally extendingguide rails 192, 194. The guide rails and support plates are allstainless steel and are welded to the sidewalls. Also welded tosidewalls are pairs of mounting studs 196, 198 for supporting a latchassembly slide blocks to be described below. The drive system 22 ismounted to the support plate 184 extends through an opening 195 in thesupport plate.

[0052] Mounted to the guide rails is a food tube assembly 20, FIGS. 10and 13, which includes a bundle of tubes 202 supported by a bottom panel204 and a top panel 206 fastened to each other by four tie rods 208,210, 212, 214. The tube assembly transports food to be sliced to theblade 36. The bottom panel 204 has two lateral rail receiving grooves216, 218. These allow the tube assembly to slide along the guide rails192, 194 of the carriage. The tubes are stainless steel but the bottomand top panels 204, 206 may be ultra-high molecular weight resin. Closeto the upstream edge of the bottom panel are a series of holes 220;eight are shown but more or less may be used. It should be noted thatthe tube assembly 20 is a self-supporting unit which may be removed fromthe carriage and replaced with another unit having more or less tubes orhaving tubes which are sized differently or placed in differentgeometric patterns. Each of the tubes is adapted to hold an elongatedcylinder of food or other item to be sliced and deposited on a passingbase. The food in each of the tubes is supported by the product supportplate 186, FIG. 11 when the tube assembly is in its at-rest or startposition.

[0053] The drive assembly 22 includes an enclosure 222, an electricalconnector 224, a precision motion generator in the form of a servomotor226, a gear box 228 containing a group of gears 229 (showndiagrammatically), an extending output shaft 230, a connected link orcrank 232, a cam 234 and a cam follower 236. The crank has a first endportion 238 attached to the shaft 230 and a second extended end portion240 attached to the cam 234. The cam is in the form of a roller. Beneaththe drive assembly is the cam follower 236 in the form of a plate havinga slot 241 in which the roller travels pushed against the slot wall 243.The cam follower plate has side grooves 242, 244 for receiving the guiderails 192, 194, just like the bottom panel 204 of the tube assembly, anda series of holes 248 at its downstream end that match the series ofholes 220 in the upstream end of the bottom panel 204. The series ofholes 220 of the tube assembly 20 is parallel to the series of holes 248of the cam follower plate 236. This allows a connector 250 to be used toquickly engage and disengage the tube assembly and the cam followerplate. The connector 250 includes a top plate 252, FIGS. 10 and 14 witha handle 254 extending in one direction and two parallel lines of pins258, 260 extending in the opposite direction. One line of pins 258 isengageable with the series of holes 248 in the cam follower plate 236 asshown in FIG. 13. The other line of pins 260 is engageable with theseries of holes 220 in the tube assembly.

[0054] Connecting the cam follower plate 236 to the tube assembly 20allows the two elements to move together when the cam roller 234 movesin response to rotation of the servomotor 226. Removing the connector250 is easily done by gripping the handle and pulling the pins away fromthe two series of holes. This is usually done when the slicing apparatusis to be cleaned or when a tube assembly change is needed. All variationof tube assemblies have the same series of upstream holes and the railreceiving side grooves so as to be totally interchangeable. As can nowbe appreciated, a change of the tube assemblies, or simply the removalof a tube assembly may be accomplished in a few seconds. Downtime of theapparatus is minimized and cleaning is facilitated. Once the tubeassembly is removed, it can be efficiently cleaned. The cam followerplate may be made of Delrin and the connector may be made of stainlesssteel. A protective shield 259 is attached to the upstream slantedsurfaces of the carriage walls 180,182.

[0055] The tube assembly and the cam follower plate are movable alongthe guide rails of the carriage in response to rotational motion of theservomotor. The motion of the servomotor is transmitted through thegears and from there to the crank. Since a servomotor is extremelyprecise, any signal sent to the servomotor will result in a preciserotational movement of the servomotor. This rotation is preciselymagnified by the gears. Any precision motion generator may be usedalthough a servomotor is preferred. The rotational motion is transmittedalong the crank to the roller cam. Since the roller cam is confinedwithin the slot of the cam follower plate, where the wall surroundingthe slot acts as a cam follower surface, the rotational movement of theservomotor is translated into linear motion in a direction parallel tothe guide rails. This causes the tube assembly to move along a pathparallel to but above the path of the wire conveyor belts on which ridethe bases that receive the sliced food or other items from the foodtubes.

[0056] Major advantages of the disclosed apparatus are its compact size,simple structure, ease of cleaning and efficient operation. Even thoughthe apparatus is capable of handling pizzas as large as sixteen inchesin diameter, the footprint of the apparatus is less than seventy-oneinches along the line of travel of the food product and less thanforty-nine inches wide. One reason that the footprint is so small is thedrive system 22. The drive system includes the servomotor rotating itsshaft one way and then back with the motion being enhanced through thegears. The enhanced motion is transferred to the crank which has aneight inch dimension from an axis of rotation to the center of the camroller. The crank is constrained to rotate through an arc of about onehundred fifty four degrees.

[0057] The far end of the crank 232 is connected to the cam roller 234that rides in the cam follower slot 241 of the plate 236. Thus, in thisarrangement rotational motion of the motor is transformed into linearmotion of the cam follower plate and the connected tube assembly.Referring to FIG. 15, a diagrammatic view of crank movement isillustrated superimposed on an x-y coordinate system. The x-ycoordinates are arranged to have the same atitude as the exploded viewof FIG. 10 where the x-axis 261 of the coordinates is parallel to thedirection of the conveyor belts and of any pizza movement represented bythe arrow 262. To slice and deposit food product, like pepperoni, on asixteen inch pizza base that is moving down the conveyor system at avelocity of about sixty inches per minute, the tube assembly 20 mustmove at the same velocity for a linear distance of about fifteen inches.To accomplish this feat, the crank must accelerate from a start position263 (thirteen degrees above the x-axis) to a velocity equal to that ofthe conveyor system and then decelerate to zero at the end of travel 264(also thirteen degrees above the x-axis but one hundred fifty fourdegrees away from the start position) before returning to the startposition 263 in time to move forward again when the next pizza comesalong on the conveyor system.

[0058] The electronic control 28 has been programmed to accelerate thetube assembly once a sensor 265, FIG. 10 signals that a pizza hasarrived at a predetermined location so as to give the tube assembly timeto accelerate while the pizza continues to move at a constant velocity.After reaching a velocity equal to the velocity of the pizza, thepepperoni is sliced and deposited “on target,” that is, deposited on thepizza in the desired pattern. The tube assembly is then stopped andquickly returned to the starting position. It must be noted that eventhough the tube assembly is moving linearly along the x-axis, the cam234 is moving along an arc 266. Thus, the electronic program must matchthe component of cam velocity that is parallel to the x-axis only, andnot total velocity, with the velocity of the conveyor. Therefore, therotational velocity of the crank will constantly vary for the velocitycomponent of the cam in the direction of the x-axis to be constant andequal to the constant velocity of the pizza.

[0059] The above described drive system occupies a very small space toachieve a relatively long stroke for the crank. It is to be understood,that the drive system may be scaled up or down as a function of the sizeof the pizza or other product on the conveyor system, the pattern to bedeposited, the anticipated velocity of the conveyor, the width of theapparatus and like factors that impact on the size and movement of thedrive system. Furthermore, the program may be altered if a differentsize pizza is to be run on the conveyor.

[0060] The carriage 18 is pivotally connected to a bolt (not shown) inthe upstream portion 16 of the frame 12 at a pivot bushing 270, FIGS. 5and 10. This connection allows the carriage to pivot between a closedposition shown in solid line in FIG. 3 to an open position shown inbroken outline. Attached to the downstream portion of the carriage is alatch and slice thickness adjustment system 271, FIGS. 3 and 5. Thesystem includes slide blocks 272, 274, FIGS. 5, 10, 16 and 17. Eachslide block includes two horizontally disposed slots 276, 278 which areused to mount the blocks to the studs 196, 198, FIG. 10, on the carriage18 to allow the blocks to move horizontally. Beneath the two horizontalslots are an open vertical slot 280 and an inverted L-shaped slot 282which is open at one end 284 and includes an enlarged opposite end 286separated by an upraised lip 288. An engagement element such as thelatch assembly 290, FIG. 18, and part of the latch and slice thicknessadjustment system 271, includes a handle 292, a shaft 294 to which thehandle is mounted and two oppositely disposed pins 296, 298 extendingparallel to the shaft and being mounted on arms 300, 302. Anotherengagement element in the form of a thickness adjustment assembly 304,FIGS. 5, 7, 19 and 20, and also part of the latch and slice thicknessadjustment system 271, includes a handle 308 affixed to a shaft 310,where the shaft has two off center portions 312, 314 which act as cams,and a gauge plate 316 for fine tuning. A lock 318 is provided toconstrain the thickness adjustment assembly once it is set.

[0061] When the carriage is in its closed, latched position, as shown inFIG. 1, the open vertical slot 280, FIGS. 16 and 17 on each of theblocks receives a pin, such as the pin 296, of the latch assembly 290,FIG. 18. The inverted L-shaped slot 282 receives an off center cam ofthe thickness adjustment shaft assembly 304, FIG. 19, such as the offcenter cam 312. The carriage is locked to the frame when the handle 292of the latch assembly 290 causes the pins 296, 298 to move clockwise, asviewed in FIG. 18, against the wall 319 of the vertical slots 280, FIG.17. This causes the blocks to slide rightward, as viewed in FIG. 17. Therightward movement forces the off center cam portions 312, 314 of thethickness adjustment assembly 304 to pass over the lips 288 of theinverted L-shaped slots 282 and into the enlarged end portions 286.Thereafter, movement of the handle 308 on the thickness adjustmentassembly 304 causes the cams 312, 314 of the shaft 310 to bear againstthe wall 320 of the enlarged portion 286 of the inverted L-shaped slot282, thereby causing the carriage 18 to pivot upwardly or downwardlyrelative to the frame 12. The thickness adjustment assembly 304 ismounted on the support plates 86, 88, FIGS. 5 and 6, which are welded tothe three mounting rods 81, 82, 84. The latching assembly 290, FIG. 18,is mounted on the walls 77, 79 of the frame near the thicknessadjustment assembly for ease of handling.

[0062] Referring now to FIGS. 20-26, the blade guide 157 is shown inmore detail. The guide is a generally rectangular, solid bar with atapered front end portion 321. The front end portion includes a topsurface 322, a bottom surface 324 and an oblilquely directed slot 326.The slot receives the slicing blade 36. The bottom surface includes aseries of channels, or plateaus 328 and valleys 330, disposed in adirection parallel to that of the conveyor belt movement. The blade andthe blade guide are oriented with the front end portion facing in anupstream direction. Product to be sliced approaches the front endportion of the blade guide with the product being transported by thetube assembly 20. The blade moves across the wire conveyor beltperpendicular to the direction of conveyor belt travel and just abovethe bases carried by the wire belts of the conveyor system. After theblade slices a product, such as pepperoni, the sliced food passes alongthe bottom surface 324 and is guided by the bottom surface downwardlytoward the moving base. As mentioned earlier, it is important for thesliced food to maintain the pattern on the base as was predetermined bythe pattern of the tubes 202 themselves. This is elegantly done by theseries of alternating plateaus 328 and valleys 330. A thin slice of foodtypically will bend or curl somewhat after being cut. When this happens,an edge of the cut food product will become entrapped in one of thevalleys causing the adjoining plateau to act as a guide thereby forcingthe cut food to be move parallel to the movement of the base andconveyor so as to be deposited in generally the right location on thebase. Without a guide the fast moving blade imparts a lateral force toeach cut food product. This tends to move the cut food product in thedirection of the moving blade, namely, perpendicular to the direction ofthe moving base. The alternating plateaus and valleys minimizes suchlateral movements. The blade guide is formed of corrosion resistant toolsteel.

[0063] Referring now to FIGS. 27-32, more details of the cutting bladesystem 24, FIG. 1, are disclosed. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, thecutting blade system is mounted across and to each side of the frame.Specifically, the cutting blade system is mounted on the three parallelrods 81, 82, 84, FIG. 7 welded to the frame. The blade 36 rotates arounda driver pulley or drum 334, FIGS. 27, 28 and 29, and a driven drum orpulley 336, FIGS. 30 and 31. The driver drum 334 is part of an assembly335 and is attached to the motor 110 and to a mounting frame assembly338. The frame assembly 338 is fastened to the three rods by fasteners335, 337, 339 so that the driver drum is fixed in position. A cover 112is placed over the driver drum and mounting frame assembly.

[0064] The driven drum 336 is part of an assembly 337 and is mounted toa slide frame assembly 340 which is also mounted on the three parallelrods 81, 82, 84 so as to slide relative to the three rods. The drivenpulley 336, part of a blade tensioning system, is attached to the slideframe assembly so as to move toward and away from the side wall 79 ofthe frame. A bracket 344 is rigidly attached to the ends of the rods bythree fasteners 341, 343, 345. A pin 346 is threadedly engaged at oneend to the slide frame 340 and moves back and forth with the slideframe. The pin 346 moves through an opening 348 in the bracket. Acylindrical insert 350 is also threaded to the pin 346 at its other endand is placed within a cylindrical opening 352 of a rotatable andpivotable handle 354. When the handle is pivoted about the insert 350,an outer surface 356 of the handle 354 acts as a cam because of thediffering radius from an axis of rotation 358 to the outer surface 356.This outer surface bears against a surface 360 of the bracket 344 andmoves the slide frame 340 and the drum 336 through the pin 346 placingthe blade in greater or lesser tension. In addition, the handle isrotatable on an axis 362 coincident with the longitudinal axis of thethreaded pin 346. When this is done, the handle is moved away from ortoward the fixed bracket 344 to allow for fine adjustment of therelationship between the handle 354 and the bracket 344.

[0065] In operation, the slicing apparatus is part of a food processingassembly line, and, in the case of processing frozen pizza, the slicingapparatus may be the third station. Usually, a circular pizza doughforms the base and is placed on a conveyor system. At a first station,sauce is deposited on the dough base. The base is then conveyed to acheese depositing stations and from there, the base may proceed to theslicing apparatus for pepperoni and/or other toppings. The processedpizza is then boxed and frozen.

[0066] At the slicing apparatus the pizza arrives and is centered by theinfeed guide. As the pizza proceeds on the conveyor system, the sensorsignals the electronic program which starts the drive system toaccelerate the tube assembly to match the velocity of the passing pizza.As the food tube assembly passes the slicing blade a thin slice oftopping is cut and deposited on the pizza in a predetermined pattern.

[0067] The slicing apparatus is made primarily of stainless steel andsynthetic resin and to a large extent the stainless steel is weldedtogether. This construction makes the apparatus easy to clean andmaintain. To facilitate cleaning, parts of the apparatus, such as thetube assembly, may be quickly removed. The quick disconnect also allowsdifferent sizes and shapes of tube assemblies to be exchanged forversatility purposes since different size pizzas, with differenttoppings patterns, can be accommodated.

[0068] The slicing apparatus has a relatively small footprint and can beset up in small areas. The apparatus is also efficient and reliable andallows for easy adjustment.

[0069] The activation box 30 includes an on/off button and theelectronic program control 28 includes the program to cycle theapparatus as each conveyor borne pizza base is sensed. It should benoted that both the activation box and the program control may bemounted elsewhere than on the frame, if convenient. For example, it mayprove convenient not to expose the program control or the control box towater and a cleaning solution and therefore these items may be mountedin another room or behind a shield.

[0070] The above specification describes in detail the preferredembodiment of the present invention. Other examples, embodiments,modifications and variations will, under both the literal claim languageand the doctrine of equivalents, come within the scope of the inventiondefined by the appended claims. For example, the program control and theactivation box may be mounted away from the frame. Furthermore,different shapes may be used for the frame and the carriage. More orless pins may be used on the connector 250 and the number of openings onthe cam follower plate 236 and the tube assembly 200 may be the same ormore than the number of pins. The precision motor may be a servomotorand different programs may be created to cycle the operation of theslicing apparatus. These are all considered to be equivalent structures.Further, they will come within the literal language of the claims. Stillother alternatives will also be equivalent as will many newtechnologies. There is no desire or intention here to limit in any waythe application of the doctrine of equivalents nor to limit or restrictthe scope of the invention.

1. A slicing apparatus for a product processing line comprising: aframe; a conveyor system mounted to said frame, said conveyor system forforming a first path along which bases move; a cutting blade mounted onstructure for moving generally perpendicular to said first path; a tubeassembly connected to said frame for moving along a second path parallelto and above said first path and for moving items to be sliced passedsaid cutting blade; a compact drive system connected to said tubeassembly for moving said tube assembly, said drive system including aprecision motion generator and a connected crank; and a control systemfor cycling said drive system in a predetermined manner.
 2. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said drive system includes agroup of gears, a cam and a cam follower plate, said gears being drivenby a servomotor; said crank has first and second end portions, saidfirst end portion being operatively mounted to said gears; said cambeing mounted to said second end portion of said crank; and said camfollower plate having a slot for receiving said cam.
 3. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 1 including: a quick connect and disconnect connectorengaging said tube assembly and said drive system.
 4. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 1 including: a connector having a plurality of pins;and wherein pin receiving holes are formed in said tube assembly and insaid drive system.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein: saiddrive system includes a group of gears, a cam and a cam follower plate,said gears being driven by a servomotor; said crank has first and secondend portions, said first end portion being operatively mounted to saidgears; said cam being mounted to said second end portion of said crank;and said cam follower plate including a slot for receiving said cam. 6.The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 including: a carriage mounted tosaid frame, said carriage including oppositely disposed guide rails;said tube assembly includes guide rail receiving grooves; and said camfollower plate includes guide rail receiving grooves.
 7. The apparatusas claimed in claim 1 including: a carriage mounted to said frame, saidcarriage including a first plate for supporting said drive system and asecond plate for supporting items in said tube assembly.
 8. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1 including: a carriage mounted to saidframe and supporting said tube assembly; and said tube assembly isslidably disengageable from said carriage.
 9. The apparatus as claimedin claim 1 including: a carriage pivotably mounted to said frame; saidcarriage moves from a closed position to allow slicing of items to anopen position to allow said slicing apparatus to be cleaned.
 10. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1 including: a sensor for providing asignal when a base on said conveyor system reaches a predeterminedlocation.
 11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein: said controlsystem in response to a signal from said sensor causes said tubeassembly to move at the same velocity as said conveyor system.
 12. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1 including: a latching and slicethickness adjustment system.
 13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12including: a carriage mounted to said frame; said latching and slicethickness adjustment system includes a latch element mounted to saidcarriage; a first engagement element for moving said latch element in agenerally horizontal direction relative to said carriage; and a secondengagement element for restraining and for moving said latch element ina generally vertical direction.
 14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1including: a blade tensioning system.
 15. The apparatus as claimed inclaim 14 wherein: said blade tensioning system includes a driver drummounted to a shaft extending from one side of said frame; a motoroperatively connected to said driver drum; a driven drum mounted toslidably engage a shaft extending from a second side of said frame; saidcutting blade being mounted to said driver drum and to said driven drum;and a rotatable handle having a cam surface, said handle being connectedto said driven drum wherein said rotatable handle bears against asurface and when rotated, said cam causes said driven drum to be movedrelative to said shaft extending from the second side of said frame. 16.The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including: a blade guide.
 17. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein: said blade guide includes anelongated metal bar having a front end portion, an upper surface and alower surface wherein said upper surface is generally flat, said frontend portion includes a downwardly and rearwardly slanted surface and ablade constraining slot, and said slanted surface includes a series ofchannels.
 18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein: saidchannels are parallel to one another and extend from said front endportion.
 19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein: said bladeguide includes a slanted surface for guiding food sliced by the bladetoward said conveyor system.
 20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16including: a latching and slice thickness adjustment system.
 21. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 20 including: a blade tensioning system.22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21 including: a sensor forproviding a signal when a base on said conveyor system reaches apredetermined location; and wherein said control system in response to asignal from said sensor causes said tube assembly to move at the samevelocity as said conveyor system.
 23. The apparatus as claimed in claim22 wherein: said drive system includes a group of gears, a cam and a camfollower plate, said gears being driven by a servomotor; said crank hasfirst and second end portions, said first end portion being operativelymounted to said gears; said cam being mounted to said second end portionof said crank; said cam follower plate having a slot for receiving saidcam; a quick connect and disconnect connector engaging said tubeassembly and said drive system; said connector having a plurality ofpins; and pin receiving holes formed in said tube assembly and in saiddrive system.
 24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including: aheight adjustment mechanism for said conveyor system.
 25. A drive systemfor a food slicing apparatus comprising: a precision motion creator;gears operatively connected to said motion creator; a link having firstand second end portions, said first end portion being operativelymounted to said gears; a cam element mounted to said second end portionof said link; a cam follower element including a slot for receiving saidcam element; and a quick connect and disconnect connector for engagingsaid cam follower element and a food transporting assembly.
 26. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 25 wherein: said cam follower elementincludes a connector opening; and said connector includes pins forengaging said opening of said cam follower element and an opening in thefood carrier assembly.
 27. The apparatus as claimed in claim 26 wherein:said cam follower element includes oppositely disposed grooves tofacilitate mounting on guide rails.
 28. The apparatus as claimed inclaim 27 wherein: said motion creator accelerates said cam followerelement to a predetermined velocity and thereafter decelerates said camfollower element.
 29. A drive system for a food slicing apparatus, wheresaid apparatus includes a conveyor system for moving a series of bases,a pair of rails and a control system, said drive system comprising: aprecision motion creator located above said conveyor system; gearsoperatively connected to said motion creator; a link having first andsecond end portions, said first end portion being operatively mounted tosaid gears; a cam mounted to said second end portion of said link; a camfollower movable along said pair of rails; and a connector for engagingsaid cam follower and a food transporting assembly, said foodtransporting assembly also being movable along said pair of railswhereby food product transported by said food carrier assembly isdeposited upon said moving bases.
 30. The apparatus as claimed in claim29 wherein: said cam follower includes a slot for receiving said cam.31. The apparatus as claimed in claim 30 wherein: said motion creatorcauses said cam follower and said food transporting assembly to move atthe same velocity as the bases on said conveyor system.
 32. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 31 wherein: said motion creatoraccelerates and decelerates said cam follower, said food transportingassembly and said connector.
 33. A latching and slice thicknessadjustment system for a food slicing apparatus, the food slicingapparatus having a frame and a carriage pivotally connected to theframe, the latching and slice thickness adjustment system comprising: alatch element movably mounted to said carriage; a first engagementelement for moving said latch element in a generally horizontaldirection; and a second engagement element for restraining said carrierand for moving said latch element in a generally vertical direction. 34.The apparatus as claimed in claim 33 wherein: said latch elementincludes a horizontally disposed slot used to mount the latch element tothe carriage.
 35. The apparatus as claimed in claim 34 wherein: saidlatch element includes a vertically disposed open slot; and said firstengagement element includes a pin connected to a handle wherein said pinis received by said vertically disposed open slot, and operation of saidhandle causes said pin to move said latch element in said generallyhorizontal direction.
 36. The apparatus as claimed in claim 35 wherein:said latch element includes an inverted open L-shaped slot; and saidsecond engagement element includes a cam wherein said cam is received insaid inverted L-shaped slot.
 37. The apparatus as claimed in claim 36wherein: said inverted open L-shaped slot includes a vertically orientedportion and a horizontally oriented portion, said horizontally orientedportion being separated from said vertically oriented portion by a lipfor restraining said cam.
 38. The apparatus as claimed in claim 37wherein: said latch element includes a block having two horizontallydisposed slots in an upper portion of said block, said verticallydisposed open slot is located in a lower portion of said block and saidinverted open L-shaped slot is located in said lower portion of saidblock.
 39. The apparatus as claimed in claim 38 wherein: said pinrotates through an arc limited by the extent of said upper horizontallydisposed slots.
 40. The apparatus as claimed in claim 37 wherein: saidcam is an offset rotatable element; and a wall forming part of saidhorizontally oriented portion of said inverted open L-shaped slot is acam follower.
 41. The apparatus as claimed in claim 36 wherein: said pinand handle are mounted on a first shaft; and said cam is part of asecond shaft, and both said first and said second shafts are mounted onsaid frame.
 42. The apparatus as claimed in claim 41 wherein: saidinverted open L-shaped slot includes a vertically oriented portion and ahorizontally oriented portion, said horizontally oriented portion beingseparated from said vertically oriented portion by a lip for restrainingsaid cam.
 43. The apparatus as claimed in claim 42 wherein: said latchelement includes a block having two horizontally disposed slots in anupper portion of said block, said vertically disposed open slot islocated in a lower portion of said block and said inverted open L-shapedslot is located in said lower portion of said block.
 44. The apparatusas claimed in claim 40 wherein: said latch element includes a blockhaving two horizontally disposed slots in an upper portion of saidblock, said vertically disposed open slot is located in a lower portionof said block and said inverted open L-shaped slot is located in saidlower portion of said block.
 45. A slicing blade tensioning system for afood slicing apparatus, the food slicing apparatus having a frame, saidslicing blade tensioning system comprising: a driver drum mounted to ashaft extending from a first side of the frame; a motor operativelyconnected to said driver drum; a driven drum slidably mounted to a shaftextending from a second side of the frame; a blade mounted to saiddriver drum and to said driven drum; and a rotatable handle having a camsurface, said handle being connected to said driven drum wherein saidrotatable handle bears against an abutment surface and when rotated,said cam causes said driven drum to be moved relative to said shaftextending from the second side of the frame.
 46. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 45 including: a first drum support frame slidablymounted to the shaft extending from the second side of the frame, saidfirst drum support frame for rotatably mounting said driven drum; andwherein said abutment surface is part of a first bracket attached tosaid shaft from the second side of the frame; and said rotatable handleis connected to said first drum support frame and said cam surface is inabutting engagement with said first bracket.
 47. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 46 wherein: said rotatable handle is adjustablyconnected to said first drum support frame.
 48. The apparatus as claimedin claim 47 including: a threaded stud engaged at one end to said firstdrum support frame and at another end to said rotatable handle.
 49. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 48 including: a threaded insert; andwherein said rotatable handle has an opening for receiving said threadedinsert; said threaded insert is engaged with said threaded stud; andsaid rotatable handle is rotatable about both a longitudinal axis ofsaid threaded stud and a longitudinal axis of said threaded insertwherein said longitudinal axis of said threaded stud is generallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said threaded insert.
 50. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 49 including: a first enclosure forcovering said driven drum, said first drum support frame, said firstbracket and said rotatable handle.
 51. The apparatus as claimed in claim45 including: a drum support frame mounted to the shaft extending fromthe first side of the frame, said drum support frame for rotatablymounting said driver drum to the shaft extending from the first side ofthe frame.
 52. The apparatus as claimed in claim 51 wherein: saidrotatable handle is adjustably connected to a drum support frameslidably mounted to the shaft from said second side of the frame. 53.The apparatus as claimed in claim 52 including: a threaded stud engagedat one end to said drum support frame mounted to the shaft from saidsecond side of the frame, and at another end to said rotatable handle.54. A food slicing apparatus comprising: a support structure; a cuttingblade connected to said support structure; a food holding structuremovably mounted to said support structure; and a compact drive systemconnected to said food holding structure for moving said food holdingstructure relative to said cutting blade, said compact drive systembeing mounted to said support structure and said drive system includinga precision motion generator, a connected crank, a cam connected to saidcrank, a cam follower plate connected to said cam and a connector, saidconnector for engaging and easily disengaging said cam follower plateand said food holding structure.